Website Privacy Statement

I. Scope of this Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement describes the types of personal information American Kennel Club (“AKC,” “us,” “we” or “our”) collects through our web sites that link to this Privacy Statement, including without limitation www.akc.org and any related sub domain names (the “Site”). This Privacy Statement does not govern our collection of personal information through any website or other means, other than through the Site.

By using the Site, you explicitly accept, without limitation or qualification, our practices surrounding the collection, use, and sharing of personal information provided by you in the manner described in this Privacy Statement. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Statement, please do not access, browse, or use the Site.

II. Personal Information We Collect

A. Actively Collected Information

Personal information includes information that identifies you, whether directly or indirectly. AKC requests and collects personal information from our users at various site locations and instances, including, but not limited to, when you register as a user of the Site, submit information or request information from us, fulfill purchase, promotions or sweepstakes entries, or use the services offered through the Site, such as making purchases in our Online Store, using your My AKC account, donating to AKC Reunite Canine Support and Relief Fund, or registering a dog or litter through our online system. These are currently the primary ways in which we gather information; however, we may also collect data through other channels in the future.

The types of personal information we may actively collect from you can vary according to the method through which it was attained. It may include, but is not limited to, the following:

A record of your AKC Site orders, purchase history, and shopping behavior and preferences

Location and geographic information that could be collected if you use our mobile site or app

Other details that you may submit to us or that may be included in the information provided to us by third parties

If you opt not to provide us with personal information you can still access the Site, however you may be unable to receive certain services, participate in certain promotions, such as sweepstakes, or create login credentials in order to use certain functionalities on the Site.

B. Passively Collected Information

We may collect certain information about your use of the Site through the use of tracking technologies or by other passive means. We may use analytics applications such as Google Analytics to help us collect and analyze this information. This “passively collected” information includes, but is not limited to, the domain name of the website that allowed you to navigate to the Site, search engines used, the internet protocol (“IP”) address used, the length of time spent on the Site, the pages you looked at on the Site, other websites you visited before and after visiting the Site, your browser type, the frequency of your visits to the Site, and other relevant statistics, including the following:

Log Information. When you access the Site, our servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website. These server logs may include information such as your web request, IP address (or the proxy server you use to access the internet), location data, browser type, browser language, your computer operating system, your mobile device and mobile operating system, the name of your internet service provider or your mobile carrier, the date and time of your request, and one or more cookies (small text files containing a string of characters) that may uniquely identify your browser.
Navigation Information. When you visit or access the Site we automatically receive the URL of the site from which you came (known as a “referring URL”) and the site to which you are going when you leave the Site. Additionally, advertisers receive the URL of the page you were on when you click on an ad on the Site. The Site may include links in a format that enables us to keep track of whether you have clicked on a link or opened an email from us. We use this information to improve the quality of our products and design.

Location Data. We may also receive location data passed to us from location-enabled devices or from third-party services. You may at any time opt-out from further allowing us to have access to your location data by adjusting the permissions in your mobile device. Even after you opt out, service providers may collect device-specific information (such as a unique device identifier) when you use our Site.

Cookies. When you visit or access the Site, we send one or more cookies (small text files containing a string of characters) to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. We use cookies to improve the quality of the Site by storing user preferences and tracking user trends. Most web browsers accept cookies automatically, but can be configured not to do so or to notify the user when a cookie is being sent. If you wish to disable cookies, refer to your browser help menu to learn how to disable cookies. Please note that if you disable cookies, you may not be able to log in to your account and you will not be able to use certain features available through the Site.

Adobe Flash is another technology that can provide cookie-equivalent functionality. Adobe Flash is capable of storing information on your device (in a file outside of your browser). Please note that not all browsers provide the ability to remove Adobe Flash “cookies” (also called “locally stored objects,” or “LSOs”). You can restrict or block Adobe Flash cookies/LSOs through the Adobe website. As with any cookie, if you do restrict flash cookies/LSOs, there may be some Site features you aren’t able to use.

Web Beacons. Web beacons (also known as “pixel tags” or “clear GIFs”) are 1×1 single-pixel graphics that allow us to count the number of users who have visited or accessed the Site and to recognize users by accessing our cookies. We may employ web beacons to facilitate Site administration and navigation, to track the actions of users of the Site, to compile aggregate statistics about Site usage and response rates, and to provide an enhanced online experience for visitors to the Site. We may also include web beacons in HTML-formatted e-mail messages that we send to determine which e-mail messages were opened.

III. How We Use Personal Information

Personal information collected through the Site may be used by AKC and its affiliates for purposes of:

Administering and processing your account or applications;

In connection with registering a litter or dog;

For determining compliance with AKC Rules, Regulations and policies and contacting individuals to whom you have transferred a dog or puppy;

Responding to your questions;

Providing the products and services you select;

Contacting you, whether by email or postal mail, with information about the Site;

To contact you about our products, services, and promotions or those of our partners or other third parties from time to time;

Sending you email newsletters you request;

Auditing, research, and analysis to maintain, protect, and improve our product and service offerings;

Tailoring advertisements to you;

Providing you with credit card offers, including in certain instances pre-approved credit card offers from financial institutions with whom we may partner from time to time;

Creating a profile based on the information you have provided;

Ensuring the technical functions of our network;

Developing new products and services;

Processing your orders, donations and inquiries;

Responding to your requests and improving the Site;

To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us;

Compiling personal information and other information collected through the Site on an aggregate basis;

Administering sweepstakes and contests;

To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide the information; and

For any other purpose with your consent.

IV. Personal Information We Share

We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise share personal information collected through the Site, except as described below:

Dog or Litter Registration. If you register a dog or litter using the Site and you co-own a dog or a litter, your name and address may be shared with other co-owners of the same dog or litter.

Subsidiaries and Affiliates. We may share personal information collected through the Site with our subsidiaries and affiliates for the purposes for which you provided the information or as reasonably necessary for our internal administrative and business purposes.

Service Providers. We work with third parties that provide services on our behalf. For example, if you make purchases through the Site, we may share personal information with third parties that process payments on our behalf. We may also use third parties for services that include, but are not limited to, product fulfillment, log-in registration, website and email hosting, marketing, website analytics and advertising. We may share personal information and non-personal information collected through the Site with these third parties so that these third parties can provide services on our behalf. AKC is not responsible for the conduct of any third parties who provide services on our behalf, and we expressly disclaim all liability for damages of any kind arising out of the action or inaction of such third parties.

Marketing. We enter into certain select marketing relationships with advertisers and other companies that provide products or services that we believe may be of interest to users of the Site. We will share personal information or any information collected through the Site with those marketing partners in order to help them send you information that we believe will be of interest to you.

Social Media Sign-On and Registration Services. The Site allows users the option to log-on or submit information through Facebook, Twitter, and other third party social networking websites via a third party portal. If you provide your social networking username and password through the portal, depending on your social network’s privacy settings, the third party uses that information for log-in to the Site and may pull your information from that social networking website, subject to the applicable social networking website and your current privacy setting on such social networking website. If you choose to log on to a website through a third party social networking website, we are not responsible or liable for the privacy practices or content of the third party portal provider, or such websites. We may use the information obtained through the third party portal provider to contact you, using third party marketing vendors, about our own and third parties’ goods and services that may be of interest to you.

Non-Private or Non-Personal Information. We may share with third parties certain pieces of aggregated, non-personal information, such as the number of people who visited or accessed the Site or the number of profiles created by users of the Site.

Internet Based Advertising and Tracking. We may participate in Interest-based and behavioral advertising. This means that you may see advertising on the Site tailored to how you engage, browse or shop, or you may see advertising for us on other websites, applications and social media based on your behavior across websites, applications and social media. We may target ads based on data we have collected, or data provided by third parties alone or in combination with the data we collect ourselves. If you choose to interact with specific third parties who advertise through the Site, the information you provide to them is subject to the conditions of their specific privacy policies.

In connection with the foregoing activities, third parties, often called “ad servers” or “ad networks,” may place and access cookies, web beacons, or other tracking technology on your device to collect information about your use of the Site and your use of third-party sites. The information about your use of the Site may be combined with information about your use of third-party websites to provide targeted advertisements and content that may of interest to you (this is known as “behavioral advertising”). The information they collect from the Site may identify you personally, or they may associate it with personal information collected in other ways or received from other third parties. We do not control these third parties or their use of cookies, web beacons, or other tracking technology.

By using the Site you agree to usage tracking and targeted, behavioral advertising. If you do not wish to have cookies track your usage for these purposes please see the Section II.B of this Privacy Statement to refuse all or some browser cookies or do not use the Site.

Some advertisers may provide you with the choice to opt-out of having your information used for behavioral advertising. If you would like more information about behavioral advertising, or for information about how to opt-out of behavioral advertising, please visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s (“NAI”) consumer Web site at http://www.networkadvertising.org/understanding-online-advertising, and in particular, NAI’s Ad Network “Opt-Out” page at http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/. Even if you opt-out of behavioral advertising, we may still collect and use information about your use of the Site to the extent otherwise permitted by this Privacy Statement (such as to analyze Site traffic and usage, conduct website analytics, administer the Site, etc.). In addition, if you opt-out of receiving behavioral advertising from a particular advertiser, the advertiser may still provide advertisements to you, but the ad will not be targeted to you based on your online activities.

Do Not Track. Our Site does not currently recognize “Do Not Track” browser signals or mechanisms. However, as described in Section II.B of this Privacy Statement, you can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent.

Online Record Keeping Service, Registration, Breeding or Club Information. Any information entered into our Site in relation to registered co-owned dogs and litters will be accessible by all registered co-owners and each registered co-owner will have the authority to enter and change the information about the co-owned dog or litter. In addition, information made available through the Site about any AKC club may be changed by any individual who has administrative privileges for such club.

Consent. We may share personal information in accordance with any consent you provide.

Legal. We may disclose personal information or any information collected through the Site if we are required to do so by law or pursuant to legal process, in response to a request from government officials or law enforcement authorities, or as necessary or appropriate in connection with an investigation of illegal activity.

Certain Transactions. We may disclose or transfer personal information or any information collected through the Site to third parties who acquire all or a portion of our business, whether such acquisition is by way of merger, consolidation, or purchase of all or a portion of our stock or assets, or in connection with any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding brought by or against us.

Public Information. Note that any information which you upload, post, e-mail, submit or otherwise transmit to, through, or in connection with the Site to a public message board, chat area or other public area of the Site becomes public information. You are solely responsible for any such information you choose to post on or through the Site, and you may always choose not to divulge anypersonal information to the public when posting to a message board, chat area or other public area of the Site. All information that is posted to a message board, chat area, or other public area of the Site may be shared by us with others.

Contests and Sweepstakes. When you sign up to participate in a contest or sweepstakes, your information may also be provided to our sweepstakes or contest advertisers, administrators, operators or sponsors and the use of that information will be also governed by those advertisers’, administrators’, operators’ or sponsors’ privacy policies or practices.

V. Aggregate Information

We may compile personal information and other information collected through the Site on an aggregate basis. This information may include, without limitation, the number of users who have registered for the Site and demographic information about users of the Site. Such aggregate information does not identify you individually. We may use aggregate information and share aggregate information with third parties for any of the purposes specified in this Privacy Statement, or for any other lawful purpose.

VI. Opt Out

To the extent that you are receiving marketing communications from the Site you have the option to unsubscribe or opt-out of future communications. You may unsubscribe or opt-out of future messages as follows:

If you no longer wish to receive emails you may click on the hyperlink titled “Unsubscribe” at the bottom of any marketing related email sent to you by AKC, and then follow the directions to unsubscribe from email.

You may indicate your preference that AKC not release to third parties personal information collected when you subscribe to our magazines by checking the appropriate box on the subscription invoice form or subscription renewal form that we mail to you.

Additionally, requests to opt out of any marketing use of your personal information can be sent to us at info@akc.org or 919-233-9767, and we will process your request within any time period required by law. We are not responsible for removing your personal information from the lists of any third party who has previously been provided your information in accordance with this Privacy Statement.

VII. Updating Information

We encourage registered users of the Site to keep their personal information current. You may access, edit or delete certain personal information you have provided about you by updating your My AKC account. For magazine subscribers, you may edit your postal mailing address at the Change My Address page.

VIII. Information Storage and Security

We employ reasonable security precautions to protect personal information about you. We use secure socket layer (SSL) software to encrypt certain types of information, such as payment card information, when transmitting information between your browser and the Site. No method of transmitting or storing data is completely secure. As a result, although we strive to protect personal information about you, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us through or in connection with the Site. If you have reason to believe that personal information is no longer secure, please notify us immediately by contacting us in accordance with the last section below.

IX. A Special Note about Children

Children are not eligible to use the Site, and we ask that minors (children under the age of 13) not submit any personal information to us. If you are a minor, you can use the Site only in conjunction with your parents or guardians.

X. External Links

The Site contains links to various websites that AKC does not control. When you click on one of these links, you will no longer be transacting business through the Site. Third party websites maintain their own privacy policies, and we do not exercise any control over any of the third party websites that may be linked to the Site. If you visit a website that is linked to the Site, you should consult that website’s privacy policy before providing any personal information. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other websites, and we are not liable for their misuse of personal information about you.

XI. Special Admonitions for International Use

The Site is intended for use by residents of the United States of America only. All matters relating to the Site are governed exclusively by the laws of the State of New York in the United States of America and not the jurisdiction in which you are located. If you are located outside of the United States of America and you contact us, please be advised that any information you provide to us will be transferred to the United States of America and that by submitting information, you explicitly authorize such transfer.

XII. Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may change or update the Site or any of our policies and procedures without prior notice. We will post a notice on this Site to advise you of any significant changes to this Privacy Statement and indicate at the bottom of this Privacy Statement when it was most recently updated. Your continued use of the Site signifies your continued assent to the terms of this Privacy Statement, as updated or amended at that time.

XIII. Questions Regarding this Privacy Policy

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Privacy Policy, please send us an email to info@akc.org.

Founded in 1884, the AKC is the recognized and trusted expert in breed, health and training information for dogs. AKC actively advocates for responsible dog ownership and is dedicated to advancing dog sports.